Podcast appearances and mentions of andy coco

Andy Coco, founder of Dogtown Records, local musician, audio engineer, and radio DJ joins Chris and Amy to talk about the 2nd Annual Soulard Blues and Roots Festival taking place Labor Day weekend and the deep history of blues music in St. Louis.

In this hour Chris and Amy talk with Andy Coco, founder of Dogtown Records, local musician, audio engineer, and radio DJ about the 2nd Annual Soulard Blues and Roots Festival taking place Labor Day weekend and the deep history of blues music in St. Louis. Women's hobbies men find unattractive. KMOX Sports Matt Pauley talks about the walk off win and Gorman being sent to Memphis. 

Chris and Amy talk with CBS Politcal Reporter Aaron Navarro about the DNC. Andy Coco, founder of Dogtown Records, local musician, audio engineer, and radio DJ joins to talk about the 2nd annual Soulard Blues and Roots Festival taking place Labor Day Weekend. KMOX Sports Matt Pauley discuss the win against the Brewers and sending Gorman to Memphis. Also unattractive hobbies for women according to men and Amy thinks she saw Santa.

Tonight we celebrated the 100th episode, of the kdhx podcast Tangazo, with an awesome panel of super progressive social justice activist women , from across the country focused on the consequences of the upcoming November midterm elections. Reverend Stephanie T Wilkins, from Houston Texas and Beto O'Rourke's campaign for Governor of Texas, Alicia D Smith community organizer and elected official in Minneapolis, along with St. Louis Alderwoman Dr. Megan-Ellyia Green PhD. leader of the progressive movement in St. Louis, were my guest for this 100th episode of the kdhx podcast Tangazo. ——- The panel discussed whether are not Roe V Wade was as some have referred to as a “white issue.” All agreed that it was a freedom issue at its core and not a black are white issue. We all agreed that the upcoming November midterm elections will have tremendous impact on our American democracy and that there needs to be a sense of urgency amongst Democratic voters throughout the nation, with everything at stake pending outcomes of the November midterm elections. ——— This is indeed is one of the most interesting and important episodes of the kdhx podcast Tangazo. It was my privilege to host this panel discussion with this group of extraordinary women who have made service to their communities, their life's work. ——— A special thanks to Andy Heaslet, Andy Coco, producers Jon Valley, Sasha and the staff and management at kdhx for their support and help from the very beginning and throughout the last 4 years. —— Thanks to Tangazo contributors, Tim Person, Darryl Gregory Gray and Michael Wesley Jones and a hundred are so guest without whom there would be no show, thank you all from the bottom of my heart! ——  

Historic Greenwood Cemetery, terrestrial resting place of over 50,000 Black human beings, embodies the paradox of dis- and respect that our species can so profoundly bring to pass. In a heartfelt complementarity, Greenwood also offers one of our region's best opportunities for environmental and cultural service.      Shelley and Rafael Morris, leaders of the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association, first shared with KDHX Earthworms in January 2018 the significance of the oldest non-sectarian African American cemetery in the St. Louis region - and the moving story of efforts to reclaim the grounds from invasive plants and illegal dumping. Four years later, Greenwood's network of volunteers and supporters has certainly grown, yet the need persists for fiscal and work party support. Good news is that multiple STL companies have adopted Greenwood as a reoccurring focus of service and monetary support. AmeriCorps St. Louis volunteers are regular workers. About half of Greenwood's T-shaped 31.85 acres have been freed from human and plant debris. From the Morris's deep commitment, discussions are beginning to observe the 150th anniversary of Greenwood Cemetery's founding, in 2024. With equity a priority for so many enterprises, what might be accomplished by then?            This year, NBC News featured Greenwood for a Black History Month story on the plight - and pluck - of those working to resurrect Black cemetery dignity and heritage. Good to get this degree of spotlight, plenty more work and outreach to come. Related Earthworms Conversations: Meeting Greenwood Cemetery (Jan 2018)  St. Louis Environmental Racism Report (October 2019) THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms Engineer, and to Andy Coco and Jon Valley of KDHX Production Team.

As climate change threatens native plant populations, freezers in a lab in Gray Summit, Missouri are helping to preserve seeds vital to potentially restoring communities of these plants.       Meg Englehardt, Seed Bank Manager for Missouri Botanical Garden, is guardian of these precious resources. What's involved with Seed Banking? Why is this (vitally!) important? And how does the Garden's work in this area contribute to biodiversity, overall? This Earthworms conversation digs into Seed Bank details. Learn more!  THANKS to Earthworms Engineer, Andy Heaslet, and to KDHX Production wizards Jon Valley and Andy Coco. Related Earthworms Conversations: A Cinematic Ode to Seed Savers (Nov 2016)      

Meditation practice can lead a person to understand causes and outcomes, prompt awareness of impacts and impulses, ground the perception that change is an only constant - and foster a commitment to act with loving kindness. Valuable for our toddler human species, busy whacking at all around us. And a tall order, that's not out of reach.  What transpires when meditation practice focuses on our human relationship with Earth?  Lisa Hoover is exploring this space. Lisa peer-leads the weekly practice of White Oak Sangha, based in the Missouri Ozarks, grounded in the Western Insight meditation tradition. This winter, she is exploring relationships to Earth, through an intensive class ____________- Earthworms host Jean Ponzi took advantage of Zoom access (vs. an hour from St. Louis drive) to join this group when 2020 pandemic adaptations moved meetings online. Sharing their love of Earth, Jean shares insights with Lisa Hoover. THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms audio engineer, and to Jon Valley and Andy Coco, the KDHX Production team. Related Earthworms Conversations: One Health for Animals - People - Earth with Dr. Sharon Deem, DVM (April 2020) Facing the Climate Emergency with psychologist Margaret Klein Salamon (June 2020) Nature's Best Hope? Ecologist Doug Tallamy say WE ARE (Feb 2020)  

State legislators are heading back into session. Another year of biz-as-usual - or worse? A powerful coalition of advocates recently moved Illinois lawmakers to achieve results for people, planet and economics.            Andy Heaslet, Earthworms' own audio engineer, dug into the details of CEJA, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act enacted into Illinois law in September 2021. He shares the story from his research for Masters' level coursework at Southern Illinois University, which was one nexus of collaborative activism that make this landmark policy a law both powerful and replicable.        Give a listen - be inspired! Thanks, Andy, for how Earthworms sounds - with THNX as well to Jon Valley and Andy Coco of KDHX Production. Related Earthworms Conversations: Diversifying Power: Energy Democracy with Jennie C. Stephens (Sept 2020) Rule of Five: the Supreme Court and CO2 (July 2020) Leah Clyburn: Organizing to Act on Environmental Racism in St. Louis (Oct 2019) Drawdown: Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (March 2018)  

What if plants, regenerative technology, and spaces for people comprised the structure of our urban environs? Envision It!      Artist and community-grower Jayvn Solomon does, in his big body of work, Loutopia. On view through May, 2022 at TechArtista, 4th and Pine, in downtown St. Louis, this energizing array of 50 image panels puts nature-for-people in the foreground of urban life.  This Earthworms conversation hikes through sustainability, social justice, urban planning, arts-as-essential, resilience - and more. Join it, with Jean and Jayvn. Thanks to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms audio engineer, and to Jon Valley and Andy Coco, KDHX Production mavens. Related Earthworms Conversations: Chalk Riot: Street Art, GRL-Powered Art Riot (May 2018) VR Botany - Techno-Biologist Dr. Kyra Krakos brings nature waaaaaay in! (June 2020) Urban Environments: STL Style with Randy and Jeff Vines (June 2018)  

From plots of land in the Dutchtown neighborhood of south St. Louis, farmed since the 1870s, partners Mimo Davis and Miranda Duschack send forth bunches, bouquets and buckets of flowers that are "locally grown, not flown" to gladden many local hearts.       Especially poignant in this conversation with Earthworms host and flower fan Jean Ponzi is the story of Urban Buds covid pivot. Nature, Love and Beauty will not be stopped!           More than 70 varieties of blooming plants are sustainably grown using drip irrigation, compost, integrated pest management, minimal tillage and cover crops. This unique farm's one acre across seven city lots embodies knowledge and commitment that joyously hold Golden Beet Certification from Known & Grown St. Louis, the regional local food evaluation program of Missouri Coalition for the Environment. Thanks to Known & Grown!           Urban Buds supplies seasonal and high-tunnel grown flowers for weddings and events, direct sale at Farmers Markets, and wholesale customers. Farm tours (by appointment) welcome visitors of all ages to see how the blooms we all love grow, and learn why local growing is so valuable - especially for plants with intense production impacts as we "typically" source them.  Pick details at www.urbanbudscitygrownflowers.com  THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms intrepid engineer, and to Jon Valley and Andy Coco, KDHX production team.  Related Earthworms Conversations: Custom Foodscaping with Matt Lebon (Dec 2018) Kate Estwing Grows, Loves, Arranges . . . Slow Flowers (July 2018)

From Flint to Standing Rock - indeed, world-wide - communities keep resisting corporate and government actions that threaten water quality and access. One heroic story from El Salvador embodies the most resourceful courage and painful struggle of "ordinary people" who know water is more precious than gold.       John Cavanaugh and activist/author partner and wife Robin Broad lived support for this saga. Their new book The Water Defenders (Beacon Press, March 2021) draws on over a decade of research and their own roles as international allies of the Salvadoran champions who took on Big Gold and the World Bank - and saved their country's water from corporate greed. Thanks to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms friend and engineer - and to Jon Valley and Andy Coco of KDHX Production. Related Earthworms Conversations: Photographer Neeta Sataam, Documenting Himalayan Climate Change (March 2018) Rule of Five: The Supreme Court and CO2 (July 2020)  

The land of second generation Missouri farmer Matt Arthur flowers thanks to his investment in growing soil. He says: “We are stewards of our land, committed to a no-till practice of regenerative agriculture. No chemicals, lots of cover crops, a preference for native species. Growing in permanent raised beds: once formed, we never disturb them." Flowers and herbs, native and medicinal plants, grow on three BLH Farm acres of this Fulton MO hillside.  Honeybees and other pollinators forage on 140 forested acres. Subscription compost collection from nearby St. Louis communities nourishes the BLH Farms' soil. Cut-flower customers can buy through the BLH CSA or online store and at Hy-Vee in Columbia MO. BLH Farms proudly holds membership and certification through Known & Grown St. Louis.  THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms audio engineer, and to Jon Valley and Andy Coco, the KDHX Production team.  Related Earthworms Conversations: Dr. Elaine Ingham: Soil Science Rocks Plant Health (Oct 2017) The Work of Ecological Restoration (July 2020)  

For Sam and Bill Wiseman, Sunflower Savannah Farm embodies  the continuity of life. Everything serves a purpose and contributes to the wellbeing of the farm.               Sheep eat the grass, conserving tractor fuel, and produce compost to grow cut flowers and specialty veg. Garden produce supports the Market, the animals and the farm family. Dogs guard the animals and the house and cats hunt critters that would ruin the grain eat garden seeds. Chickens, ducks, and geese feast on the bugs that eat the plants that feed everyone, and provide eggs to eat and compost to feed the garden soil. garden. This is the cycle for Sam and Bill, farming 22 acres in Beaufort, MO.    Thanks to Known & Grown STL, our regional local food brand and farm certification, for connecting KDHX Earthworms to Sunflower Savannah - and to all the Earthworms On The Farm conversations. Earthworms engineer is Andy Heaslet  - THANKS! also to Jon Valley and Andy Coco of the KDHX Production Team. Related Earthworms Conversations: Kate Estwing Grows - Loves - Arranges SLOW FLOWERS (July 2018)  Slow Money's Woody Tasch on Culture, Poetry, Imagination, Soil (July 2018) Kirsten Lie-Nielsen on Keeping Geese (Nov 2017)    

Where in an urban space do goats, bees, flexible muscles, resilient spirits, elderflowers, generous hearts, and veg all flourish? Thanks to farmer and healer human being Janett Lewis, in Spanish Lake, a community in unincorporated North St. Louis County, MO.          Janett's work through Rustic Roots Sanctuary grew its strong fibers from her Georgia childhood on a family plantation, through work at a Waldorf School "where everything revolves around nature," to hands-on learning of bodywork skills in global cultures. A real estate business decision brought her to Spanish Lake. She stayed to address community needs and "because it's so beautiful and the people are amazing." Rustic Roots 6.64 acres add urban farming land-wealth to the GROW Spanish Lake community garden, both co-creators with Spanish Lake CDC - with Janett's strong hand in each. In each of her key roles in Spanish Lake, Janett Lewis draws from her lifetime of experience and commitment to help people feel better. Rustic Roots Sanctuary is a proud member of Known & Grown STL, our regional local food brand and certification program from Missouri Coalition for the Environment. Thanks to Jenn DeRose and Known & Grown STL for facilitating this edition of Earthworms On The Farm! Thanks to Earthworms truly verdant engineer, Andy Heaslet - and to Jon Valley and Andy Coco, KDHX Production guys. Related Earthworms Conversations: One Health for People - Animals - Earth with Dr. Sharon Deem (April 2020) Tend & Flourish School of Botanicals (Feb 2020) Building Futures: Kids, Wood, Tools, Design, Future Benefits Now (June 2019)

If you can only plant one tree, make that tree an Oak.        Doug Tallamy, national advocate for restoring the LIFE in our places with the power of Native Plants, celebrates the mighty Quercus family of trees with this latest book, his third as definitive matchmakers for humans and plants. The Nature of Oaks: the Rich Ecology of our Most Essential Native Trees (Timber Press, 2021) is Tallamy's personal story, scientific observation chronicle and love song to the oak trees around his home. He connects tree lore to healthy soil, songbirds, and more caterpillars than even he (an expert entomologist) can count. Earthworms host Jean Ponzi welcomes Doug Tallamy back to KDHX, in a conversation part Eco-FanGirl idolizes Bug Guy, part Summit of Biodiversity Peers. Prepare to want to grow with an Oak! Presented in partnership with the 2021 Green Living Festival from the EarthWays Center at Missouri Botanical Garden. THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms audio engineer and Sierra Club national communicator, and to Andy Coco and Jon Valley, KDHX Production Guys. Related Earthworms Interviews: Nature's Best Hope? Ecologist Doug Tallamy Says WE ARE! (Feb 2020) In the Company of Trees: Forest Bathing with Andrea Serrubi Fareshteh (January 2019)    

On Legacy Circle Farms, Tyler and Erin Bernsen start their growing underground: nourishing "challenging Ozark soil" with compost, mulch and intensive grazing. Vibrantly visible are their crops of vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, high value herbs like turmeric and ginger, and heirloom varieties of garlic.            Recent addition of high tunnels boosted productivity from the quarter-acre the Bernsens farm. Their big-picture stewardship of Legacy Circle's 71 acres in Lonedell, MO embodies a unique exchange: a rent-free relationship with their landlord from which Tyler and Erin are seeking like-minded "landless" farmers to share their place for a farming start.               Legacy Circle Farms proudly holds Golden Beet Certification from Known & Grown St. Louis, our regional local food brand, a program of Missouri Coalition for the Environment. With advance reservations, tours are welcome. Goods are available through a local farms online collaborative,  at the Wildwood, Washington and Point Labbadie Farmers Markets.  Change in 2021 plans since this Earthworms conversation was recorded: juices not yet available.  THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms engineer, and for KDHX production support from Jon Valley and Andy Coco.  THANKS to Jenn DeRose of Known & Grown STL for coordinating this special series, Earthworms On The Farm. Related Earthworms Conversations: Fungus Farming for Food & Fun: McCully Heritage Project (Feb 2018) Project Garlic: Crop-Sourcing the Super Bulb with Brian DeSmet (Oct 2015)  

Earth Day, April 22, is one of the most widely observed dates on this planet. For enviro-advocates, this celebration has become Earth Month: starts in March, runs to May.       This is way true for the folks of EarthDay-365, celebrating virtually again this year in St. Louis. Executive Director Dr. Jess Watson, and Bob Henkel, Director of Programs. Earthworms host Jean Ponzi knows Jess and Bob as colleagues and friends, so this preview of a month of social action, learning, engagement and fun comes from heart, hands and eco-logic intertwined. Give a listen, get involved! Happy Earth Month to you! THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms engineer, and to Andy Coco and Jon Valley, the KDHX production team. Related Earthworms Conversations:Earth Day: History of a Genius Event with Adam Rome (May 2018)

Here at the confluence of the fourth largest watershed on Earth, most St. Louisans don't connect with our big rivers - or our community tributaries - beyond an occasional public event. How to  help us relate to the value, needs and health of our waters? Convening presenters from local, DC and global advocacy groups, this is the Global Freshwaters Summit's intent.           Organizer Laura Madden grew up in St. Louis on Coldwater Creek, now notoriously contaminated by radioactive waste. From a visit here with DC colleague and friend Myra Jackson, these women have rallied colleagues in environmental and social action, coordinating a virtual event hosted by the Missouri Historical Society around their landmark "Mighty Mississippi" exhibit.  Conference sessions and a film festival take place April 19-23, on Zoom. Registration is free. Overflowing the banks of "normal" Earth Week events, this summit aims to Change In One Generation how we humans relate to freshwater resources - and each other. THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms Engineer, with a shout-out to Andy Coco and Jon Valley, KDHX production staff. Related Earthworms Conversations: Related Earthworms Conversations: Mighty Mississippi Exhibit with curator David Lobbig (Dec 2019)  Living with Rivers: Big Muddy MO (Feb 2019)  

As dancer and choreographer Dawn Karlovsky read about The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate in Peter Wohlleben's bestseller of that name, SHE felt that communication - and transformed her experience into dance.                            Her conversation with Earthworms host Jean Ponzi explores the nature of movement as a primary force mastered (even in stillness) by trees, from whom our species can take a useful leaf! Karlovsky and Company's performance this spring of Interwoven celebrates the nourishing nurturing interconnected nature of what we now know as the "Wood-Wide Web" in a collaborative performance that includes original music by Tory Starbuck and Kalo Hoyle with stage design/visual art by Dr. Bill Russell. Audiences can virtually experience Interwoven March 26 - April 11, and learn more about this and other collaborative works at www.karlovskydance.org  THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms friend & engineer, and to KDHX production staff Andy Coco and Jon Valley. Related Earthworms Conversations: In the Company of Trees with Andrea Sarubbi Fareshteh (Jan 2019) Joan Lipkin: Focusing Theater Power on Climate Change (Oct 2017)     Related: Joan Lipkin Climate Plays NEED PIX from Dawn

Sustainable farming is both lifestyle and full-time job for Holly Evans, Randy Buck and their three children. Holly and Earthworms host Jean Ponzi "tour" this young family's 15+ acre Rosy Buck Farm on a hillside property in Leasburg, MO, where Randy digs circular vegetable beds!        Third in Earthworms' series featuring local farmers certified by Known & Grown STL, our regional sustainable food brand, this conversation explores Rosy Buck's search for land, learning process, and joyful commitment to farming, overall.                 Rosy Buck Farm brings their bounty to Sol Market (Maplewood), Wednesdays 4-7, to Point Labadie Thursdays 4-7 and Wildwood Saturdays 8-9. CSA subscriptions are, happily, sold out for 2021. They proudly hold Golden Beet Certification from Known & Grown STL.  Thanks to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms Green-savvy engineer, and to Jon Valley and Andy Coco at KDHX. Related Earthworms Conversations: Nancy Lawson, the Humane Gardener (Feb 2019) Kate Estwing Grows, Arranges Loves . . . Slow Flowers (Jan 2018)

Becky Brittain is a passionate sparkler of life, a practiced mover of energies to help ourselves, Earth and others.  Her new book The Art of Sparkling - Share Your Inner Light with the World (Weeping Willow, 2020) embodies Becky's energy, grounded in some hefty experiential cred.           Becky Brittain, Ph.D., R-DMT, is a clinically trained psychotherapist, life coach, registered dance-movement therapist, and energy transmitter. Her doctorate in prenatal and perinatal psychology from the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, M.A. in dance therapy from UCLA, and B.A. in Psychology and Dance have, as she describes in the book, all contributed to Becky's work in evolving fields and to her sparkle explorations.  Becky Brittain and Earthworms host Jean Ponzi are old friends. When Becky taught somatic psychology at Washington University in St. Louis (for 29 years) she tuned into Earthworms on KDHX, driving home from class. Hear connection sparkling between these two! As Becky Brittain says, it's a dance in light. THANKS to Earthworms Green-pro engineer Andy Heaslet, with a shout-out always to KDHX production pros Andy Coco and Jon Valley. Related Earthworms Conversations:  Dr. Sharon Deem DVM - One Health for People, Animals, Earth (August 2020) Pen Augustin on Energy Healing (May 2015) Crystal Moore Stevens: Grow, Create, Inspire (Oct 2016) Lark Rodman on Ecological Revival (Feb 2015)         Sparkle Plenty - Yippee-oo!

The mission of Heru Urban Farming, growing on lots in the City of St. Louis, is to bring healthy, sustainable produce to those who need it most. Founder and CEO Tyrean Heru Lewis is a 5th generation farmer with a background in health and physical education, a Master's degree in Management, and a vibrant passion for growing food that will grow health and vitality for the community he feeds.      Heru's passion is a tangible force. Hearing him talk about his work is feeling the joyful focus he pours into working. Inspiring, practical.  Extraordinary. Heru Urban Farming holds Golden Beet Certification from Known & Grown STL, our regional sustainable food brand and certification system.  Big congrats for the early December announcement that Heru Urban Farming is awarded a $50,000 grant from the University of Missouri-St. Louis Accelerator. Heru is one of five recipients selected from 470 applicants. The award also includes $200,000 in in-kind service from the Accelerator program. THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms engineer, supported by Andy Coco and Jon Valley at KDHX Production Related Earthworms Conversations:  Tosha Phonix: Organizing Food Justice, Growing Community (Oct 2019) Known & Grown: Brand Boosting Capacity for Local Food (June 2019) Greenwood Cemetery: History, Community, Restoration Work (Jan 2018)

Earthworms On The Farm -  conversation series NEW for 2021! This periodic feature welcomes farmer participants in Known & Grown STL, a regional local-food certification program and brand from the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.       First up: Crystal Stevens, whose Flourish farm is located near Godfrey Illinois, returns to Earthworms to share her story of family-farming over 100 varieties of fruits, flowers and culinary and medicinal herbs.                           Learn more about Flourish and Known & Grown STL! Andy Heaslet is Earthworms engineer, supported by Andy Coco and Jon Valley on the KDHX staff. THANKS! Related Earthworms Conversations: Known & Grown STL: New Brand Boosts Capacity for Local Food (June 2019) Tend & Flourish School of Botanicals (Feb 2020) Grow, Create, Inspire: a Lifestyle Guide from Crystal Stevens (Oct 2016)

Along the trail into a New Year, Terrain Magazine celebrates outdoor activity - and local faves - with 2021 Readers' Choice Awards.           Editor/publisher Brad Kovach shares the what-how-why of this specialized pub's success, promoting hiking, climbing, paddling, cycling and generally, actively enjoying NATURE.  Big Thanks to Terrain readers for naming KDHX Earthworms host Jean Ponzi your choice as Enviro-Advocate this year! Especially appreciated since Choice honorees are totally proposed by Readers, not suggested by any official list. Yay! Means a lot! THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms Enviro-Active Engineer, and to Andy Coco and Jon Valley of KDHX Production. Related Earthworms Conversations:  The New Territory: Traversing the Literary Midwest with Tina Casagrand (May 2017) Livin' with Rivers: Big Muddy MO with Greg Poleski (Feb 2017) The Big Book of Nature Activities (June 2016)

Back in Summer 2018, when Earthworms met Tim Kiefer and Beth Grolmes-Kiefer, they talked their dream of urban farming while their subscription compost collection service was taking off through St. Louis' central corridor.       FF toward end of '20 to hear how their Perennial City enterprise is now growing year-round. How Tim and Beth are learning lessons, taking steps forward, back and cyclical - and growing their full-circle urban agriculture dream. THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms friend & audio engineer, and to KDHX production pros Andy Coco and Jon Valley. Related Earthworms Conversations: Fungus Farming for Food & Fun: McCully Heritage Project (Feb 2018) Perennial City: Urban Mavens of Productive Decay (Aug 2018) The Easy Chicken: Fowl Fun Comes to You (Dec 2017) Dr. Elaine Ingham: Soil Science Rocks Plant Health (Oct 2017)

When E.O. Wilson, one of the greatest biologists of all time, wrote his memoir Naturalist in 1994, could he have imagined his work illustrated to reach a 21st century visual audience? Today, he does!        KDHX host Jean Ponzi flips the cover with conversation and full-color VIEWS of the new graphic adaptation of Naturalist (November, 2020 - Island Press), in a special KDHX Earthworms Live edition with guest Jim Ottaviani, author of this evolution of a science classic.   What did it take to translate the work of a lifetime into comic form? Ottaviani's comic writing opus spans almost every scientific discipline! Earthworms digs into his Naturalist collaboration with illustrator C. M. Butzer and the book's legendary subject, with rigor, humor and plenty of ants. Please strongly consider buying Naturalist, and any other publications, from your local independent bookstore! THANKS to Earthworms tech team: Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley and Ronnie Wisdom for hatching out this Earthworms Live! Related Earthworms Conversations: Rule of Five, Landmark Enviro-Case from Supreme Court (June 2020) One Health for People, Animals, Earth - Dr. Sharon Deem (June 2020) Nature's Best Hope? Entomologist Doug Tallamy says WE are! (February 2020)

Artists can see beauty in peril - so we can move beyond the grip of a problem like Plastic Pollution. Artist Jenny Kettler shows a way through in her photo exhibition Reclaiming Gaia, and this Earthworms conversation.          She shows plastic bags caught in bushes fluttering like tattered veils, a pregnant women shaded by a single-use bottle, and cyanotype sun-developed patterns made by rain. A hand-made book alternates pages of organza fabric with rice paper, inviting the viewer to explore the delicate "spaces between" perceptions. One print that Kettler buried in Forest Park for a year as a kind of archeological quest, motivated a change from gloss to matte photo paper when she realized the glossy stuff is laminated to plastic!                          Jenny Kettler fuses vision, awareness, and urgency as keys to unlock barriers of our thinking, to open our hearts. View Reclaiming Gaia at Stone Spiral Gallery, 2506 Sutton in Maplewood, next door to Stone Spiral Coffee. Opening reception by reservation to stay COVID-safe, October 24. Closing reception November 22, reservations accepted via Facebook. Jenny Kettler recently earned her MFA from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. She is an Adjunct Professor of art at Lindenwood University, and teaches at Laumeier Sculpture Park. THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms greenly conscious engineer, with support from Jon Valley and Andy Coco. Related Earthworms Conversations: Live without Plastic? Jay Sinha says YES! (Jan 2018) Chalk Art, Street Art, Woman-Powered Art RIOT (May 2018) Artist Takes on Plastic and Invasive Bush Honeysuckle (May 2018)

A skype interview with the new Treasurer of the COSMOS, the TU Eindhoven international student association. How do international students cope with Corona and the restrictions? What offers COSMOS? How about the common room? Interesting story about how a housing agency forced students to go in quarantine and forcing them to buy room service ... to hear that reading literature can be more fun that passing time on social media. .. to see that Brexit also causes a rise in inflow of EU students. Hosted by Limi Kalapurachal for Radio4Brainport.org. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/podcasts-4-brainport/message

Thirteen years ago, acclaimed journalist Alan Weisman both envisioned and researched the idea of a worldwide disease that would decimate our species - and change the course of our impacts on all other Earthly life. What was he thinking?           Today, like so many of our kind, Weisman is sequestered in one place, envisioning work he was planning to do - on a new book about hope for all this - while sitting out 2020, in the company of his fellow humans. Alan Weisman's first guest stop with KDHX Earthworms celebrated his 1998 report on sustainable technology in a remote Brazilian burg: Gaviotas, A Village to Change the World. In 2013 his book Countdown: Our Last Beast Home for Future on Earth and KDHX Earthworms were both honored with Global Media Awards by the Population Media Center. On our goes-around-comes-around planet, this conversation explores our pandemic present,through a spirit of common perseverance.   THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms engineer, with assistance from Jon Valley and Andy Coco. Related Earthworms Conversations: An Ecologist's Journey to Make Peace with the Anthropocene (Nov 2019) Storytelling, Deep Listening: Antidotes to Toxic Public Discourse (July 2019) Renewal - Andres Edwards on our Connection to Nature (May 2019)

What kind of leadership do human societies need right now? What areas of focus are most germaine to addressing climate change?         This Earthworms conversation explores these questions with Jennie C. Stephens, Northeastern University professor and director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, and author of the new book DIVERSIFYING POWER - Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy (Island Press, September 2020). Stephens advocates for - and shares examples of national and local leadership in - an Energy Democracy focused enough to supplant the literal power structure of the fossil fuel Polluter Elite. With an appreciation for compassion and empathy as essential leadership qualities, Stephens recognizes the critical value of a new order to democratize the dynamics of society and the energy empowering us all.                                  THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms engineer, supported by Jon Valley and Andy Coco. Related Earthworms Conversations: Envision Charlotte (North Carolina) Rolls on Circular Economy (March 2020)

A 1999 vision seeded by two Missouri women sprouted, the next year, as a tax-supported program from our state's Department of Conservation. Flourishing today in a non-profit's fertile soil, Grow Native! stands like a swath of Big Bluestem and Blazing Star as one of the strongest native plant programs around.           Carol Davit, Executive Director of the Missouri Prairie Foundation, tells how a diversity of forces grew success. Like the many "weeds" native to this idea, Grow Native! spread to include plant growers, seed producers, home and professional gardeners, and garden centers, statewide. Now housed within MPF, Grow Native! continues expanding beyond a tax-supported agency's state lines, cultivating ecological landscapes in Kansas, Iowa and Illinois. Perhaps unique in the U.S., the Grow Native! inclusion of public education, professional development, and lively marketing covers the critical human roles so the plants and habitats they create can speak for themselves. Native plants will grow on you! Check out Carol Davit's pean to prairies, for TEDx Gateway Arch.  THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley and Andy Coco, Earthworms mighty cohort of audio engineers. Related Earthworms Conversations: Nature's Best Hope? Ecologist Doug Tallamy says WE ARE (Feb 2020) Lawn Alternatives with Neil DeBoll of Prairie Nursery (Aug 2017) Natives Raising Natives: Inspiration from Butterflies and People (May 2017)  

Think of the acres, the running miles under power lines that connect us all to the electricity we want and need. Now see, under these lines, vibrant habitat: running corridors of native plants growing food and reproductive cover for beneficial insects, birds, and more. This kind of land-use transformation is real.              Wires Over Wildlife, a cost-share and expert-advisory program, works with utilities and owners of power line rights-of-ways from our Missouri Department of Conservation. Jason Jensen, Private Lands Conservation Unit Chief, leads a team of MDC experts in negotiating WOW agreements and supporting WOW partners in making these management changes work.  MDC has negotiated the first WOW agreement with a rural electric cooperative, Grundy Electric Coop. Jensen talks with Earthworms host Jean Ponzi about how this kind of agreement works, why this first coop agreement is significant, and how ecological management can save money, decrease chemical use and mowing, and restore the biodiversity bloom to power line rights-of-way across our state. Jensen is also on the statewide Feral Hog task force. Hear how MDC is working to tackle this major invasive species issue.  THANKS to Earthworms engineers: Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley and Andy Coco. Virtual podcasting takes a team! Related Earthworms Conversations:Biodiversity for Corporate Lands? (May 2020) Richard Louv: Our Wild Calling (Oct 2019)

Songbirds injured or orphaned in Missouri have one source of human help: Wild Bird Rehabilitation, a focused, modest, resourceful non-profit nesting in suburban Overland MO.         Joe Hoffman, Executive Director of Wild Bird, returns to Earthworms with an update from their 38 years of dedicated work, plus a basket of noisy Chimney Swifts, a surrogate nest of Song Sparrows, and some musical chirping with his backpack guitar. This fall, as a fund-raiser, Wild Bird will make four CDs of songs Joe and fellow bird-champions have composed and recorded, for free online download, for two months. Get their eNews to get details for music access. Fun tunes for kids, families and enviro-messaging. Music from Joe's band The Raptor Project was a favorite Earthworms element over our years live on-air. The KDHX Sound Cloud holds a clutch of these tunes. In addition to primary healing services for the birds, Wild Bird Rehab offers Seasoned advice for well-meaning folk thinking they should help a bird they "find"  Volunteer opportunities, including plenty of ongoing need for fielding "help" calls, a job you can contribute remotely! Resources from other groups helping wildlife Ways to support the work of Wild Bird Rehabilitation        THANKS to Earthworms flock of engineers: Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley Related Earthworms Conversations: Bluebirds! (June 2019) Nature's Best Hope? Ecologist Doug Tallamy says WE ARE (Feb 2020) Eagle Days, Raptor Ways with World Bird Sanctuary (Jan 2020) Keeping Geese with Kirsten Lie-Nielsen (Nov 2017)  A Tribute to St. Louis' Legendary Bird Man, Walter Crawford (July 2015)

How do we fix nature after we have disrupted it? Practitioners of the science, art and disciplines of Ecological Restoration are exploring this process, on the job. James Faupel does this work.       At the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center in the suburbs of St. Louis, James tends, tracks and works to repair the vitality of ecosystems including wetlands, woodlands, prairies and Deer Creek. His tools range from computer databases to flame torches. His skills evolved through stints in construction and horticulture, hands-on learning augmented by a degree from St. Louis Community College that parallels how professionals of all kinds have grown Ecology as a significant focus.         Earthworms host Jean Ponzi and James are colleagues in our region's circle of biodiversity advocates. This conversation follows a path of shared passions for working with nature, for nature. With emphasis on how a career trajectory like James' can benefit many more energetic, inquisitive, Earth-appreciating humans. Litzsinger Road Ecology Center is not a public facility, rather it hosts school and adult groups for structured ecological learning programs. LREC is managed by the Missouri Botanical Garden. THANKS to Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet and Jon Valley - Earthworms all-star engineering team. Related Earthworms Conversations: Nature's Best Hope? Ecologist Doug Tallamy says WE are! (February 2020) RENEWAL of Our Connection to Nature with Andres Edwards (May 2019)

Massachusettes vs. EPA. Environmental lawyer, professor and author Richard Lazarus calls this case the watershed equivalent of Brown vs. Board of Education for issues of climate change.                    The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court (Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2020) is the saga of politics, law, strategy, persistence and a dash of fate through which the U.S. Supreme Court defined CO2 as an air pollutant, changing the course of this country's regulatory climate. From the marginal enviro organization lawyer who crafted the petition, to the Bush era's "kneecapping" of climate policy, to the state attorney who defied all criticism to make his case, to the senior Justice whose opinion took a stand - this story is wildly, recently true. Richard Lazarus has argued cases before the Supreme Court. He's a native of St. Louis, transplanted east. His book is a classic, for the environment and for the law.  Earthworms host Jean Ponzi will converse again with Richard Lazarus for a Left Bank Book FB Live author event on July 22. THANKS to Earthworms team of engineers: Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley. Related Earthworms Conversations: Climate: A New Story with Charles Eisenstein (Nov 2018) Photographer Neeta Satam: Documenting Himalayan Climate Change (March 2018) Peoples' Pocket Guide to Enviro Action with Caitlin Zera (July 2017)

Summer breeze past your helmet, streets fly beneath your wheels, intriguing sites interpreted by a leader of St. Louis' cycling scene.  Most years, this is one of the annual St. Louis Community Rides, hosted on a specific date by Trailnet, our town's cycling advocacy group. Staying safe and healthy for 2020, Trailnet invites you to ride Placemaking STL anytime July 25 to August 24, taking a new app with your refillable bottle, for cycling with a Scavenger Hunt twist, exploring some of our town's cool plazas. The app has clues to find ride locales. When you get into site proximity, a lovely virtual human will pop up to interpret the site for you. Fun on two wheels!             Dana Gray, community sustainability advocate and "Plaza-Making" tour guide, joins Trailnet's Mobility Coordinator Joe Windler talking these innovations with Earthworms host Jean Ponzi.              Trailnet is hosting a bunch of these summer 2020 DIY Community Rides, with themes ranging from  LGBTQIA+ History to celebrating Juneteenth to Biking the Vote. Events wheel through September. THANKS to Earthworms team of engineers, Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet and Jon Valley. Music for today's show is Measure Once by Matthew Von Doren. Related Earthworms Conversations: Trailnet's New Vision: St. Louis Gets Around Greener, Healthier, More Lively (Nov 2016)

 As schools look toward re-opening amid COVID-19, a new toolkit from Women's Voices for the Earth helps parents talk to  teachers and school officials about harmful disinfectants — while also promoting safer and effective product alternatives and best-practices, aimed to reduce toxic exposures, and help keep not only our kids, but also our educators and school staff, healthy and safe. Key questions: what is the difference between "disinfecting" and "cleaning" and why does this difference matter? (It DOES.)                  This toolkit promote safety, health, and sensible use of product and their chemicals - and dialogue among stakeholder humans! Maria Ignacia Miranda Santis, WVE Program and Outreach Manager, details this campaign and it's "parent" project, Parents Against Quats, a campaign supporting parental leverage with schools to eliminate products using quartenary ammonia.              The science based grass-roots organizing power of Women' Voice for the Earth, and WVE's consumer-savvy campaigns, have been taking on corporate and government interests for 25 years. Efforts to amplify concerns specific to women - from moms to workers in nail salons. Successes include pressuring Johnson & Johnson to remove a carcinogenic ingredient from (are you ready for this?) Baby Shampoo in 2011, when Earthworms first met WVE. WVE's Detox the Box campaign takes aim at manufactures of tampons and other menstrual products that harbor toxic ingredients. This is a powerful, focused group! THANKS to Andy Coco and Jon Valley, engineers for this Earthworms edition. Related Earthworms Conversations: Applying Eco-Logic to Protect Streams AND Roads with Danelle Haake (July 2018)  Peoples' Pocket Guide to Enviro-Action with Caitlin Zera (July 2018)  

Psychologist Margaret Klein Salamon's life and work took a sharp turn six years ago when she turned own feelings of hopelessness and despair toward action. As a self-proclaimed Climate Warrior, she began leading others through TheClimateMobilization.org, a part of the climate emergency movement working alongside  Sunrise, Climate Strike, Extinction Rebellion and other urgent-action groups.        Salamon's has written a self-help guide to direct more of us into the kind of all-in action she continues. She talks with Earthworms' Jean Ponzi about this new book, Facing the Climate Emergency: How to Transform Yourself with Climate Truth (New Society Publishers), and how the necessary urgent climate response is connected to the Covid-19 pandemic and now the global resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.      Music: Balkan Twirl, performed live at KDHX by Sandy Weltman and Carolbeth Trio THANKS to Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley - Earthworms team of audio engineers Related Earthworms Conversations: Tosha Phonix: Organizing Food Justice, Growing Community (Oct 2019) Climate Communications from Saint Louis Zoo (Sept 2019) Leah Clyburn: Organizing to End Environmental Racism in STL (Oct 2019)

Corporations own a lot of land, from workplace campuses to the property under long-run power lines. Wildlife Habitat Council has worked with companies, worldwide and over 30 years, to prompt investment in biodiversity as a benefit to the bottom line.               Margaret O'Gorman, President of WHC, writes and talks about what makes this process work, for the companies and for Nature in her new book Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning, a Guide to Meaningful Engagement (Feb 2020, Island Press). This Earthworms conversation includes stories about collaborations like BEECH (pictured above), an environmental education center created and run by Bridgestone Tires in Warren County, TN. In the US and 27 countries abroad, this work is moving "beyond regulation," proving that achievement of real conservation goals are and should be part of doing business. Read: how WHC work is addressing US Sustainable Development Goals. Thanks to Andy Heaslet, Andy Coco and Jon Valley for keeping Earthworms sounding strong! Music: Aftershock, performed live at KDHX by Ian Ethan Case Related Earthworms Conversations: Envision Charlotte NC with Amy Aussieker (March 2020) Green America Campaigns for Solutions, with Beth Porter (Nov 2019     

Cost, access, lack of info? The incentive program Grow Solar sunsets these barriers to investing in clean, renewable energy for residents of our St. Louis and Metro East communities.                   Grow Solar pools regional buying power to secure significant discounts for residential installations. Offered here by the Missouri Botanical Garden and Midwest Renewable Energy Association, Grow Solar action starts with an informative Power Hour that will immediately advise attendees on feasibility and potential costs. Interest is strong, and growing. Brilliant! Earthworms welcomes Grow Solar's Jenn DeRose and Kevin McKee to describe the program's process and benefits, for St. Louis area communities in Missouri and Illinois. Music: Mister Sun performing live at KDHX. THANKS to Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet and Jon Valley, the actual engineering team bringing you virtual Earthworms. Related Earthworms Conversations: Drawdown: Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (May 2018) City Energy Project: Powering Efficiency in St. Louis Buildings (January 2018)

Ecologists know health is connected for all that lives. But most humans are not yet hip to this fact. One Health, both title and theme of a globally vital body of work makes this point for elephants, turtles, water, soil, etc. etc. etc.  - and us.            Dr. Sharon Deem directs the Institute of Conservation Medicine for the Saint Louis Zoo. Her work with animals, here and abroad, gave rise to the research, understanding, philosophy and curriculum called One Health, a collaboration with Drs. Elizabeth Rayhel and Kelly E. Lane-deGraaf, who teach this material at Fontbonne University. One Health draws from many disciplines, shows a way toward many solutions to issues from human to planetary scale. This Earthworms conversation ranges around One Health implications for our species during this Big Time Out, from a place of deep appreciation for Nature's health commitments and safeguards - for all species, on this 50th Earth Day.                  Don't miss hearing Sharon Deem's TEDx talk! THANKS to Earthworms engineering team, Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley.  Music: Main theme from Swan Lake, performed live for Earth Day and Earthworms by Stephen Blake, husband of Sharon Deem, from the shelter of their home. Related Earthworms Conversations:  Richard Louv: Our Wild Calling (Dec 2019) Relatives, Responsibility, Mindfulness with Dr. Daniel Wildcat (Oct 2018) Bears! with biologist Laura Conlee (July 2018)  

Learning Field Botany in Missouri's winter held little appeal for Dr. Kyra Krakos' classes at Maryville U. You just can't do your science easily. This was well before COVID-19 threw a curve into science and all human projects.       Workaround: Krakos merged her stratae of expertise with her students' digital-native prowess. She "grows" Virtual Reality prairie, glade and riparian outdoor classrooms. She set up systems so advanced students teach beginners the basics (like how pollination works), freeing herself to stay ahead of their voracious learning curves by collecting "skins" on her travels to house new VR explorations of the prairies and glades of Shaw Nature Reserve,  to Ireland's glacial lakes and woodland Berns.         While Virtual rules almost everything for us humans right now, some on-site physical pleasures gnawingly persist. Maryville will soon host Virtual Goat Week, this year's edition of an ongoing Goat Lab study of invasive species removal methods, starring the super-chomping plant control power of Goats.         BIG THANKS to Earthworms engineering crew: Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley. Music: Mister Sun, performed live at KDHX by Hunter's Permit Related Earthworms Conversations - Tech & Green Science Global Mosquito Alert with Dr. Anne Bowser (Aug 2019) Dr. Elaine Ingham: Soil Science Rocks Plant Health (Oct 2017) Drawdown: Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (March 2018)    

Earth Day launched 50 years ago. 2020 is cause for a global celebration, if not for some bits of lipid-coated protein commanding human awareness, planet-wide. In St. Louis, our Earth Day-365 leaders are rallying to help us  celebrate, learn, and organize VIRTUALLY, at the safe and healthy Social Distance. Over NINE days of eco-logical events, folks here in the Earthworms region will celebrate, while staying apart and healthy. Green learning, music and much more for all, April 18-26! Dr. Jess Watson and Bob Henkel of Earth Day-365 talk with Earthworms' Jean Ponzi about upcoming events, and how ALL of us can join this semi-centennial of Life On Earth connection.        Related Earthworms Conversations: Earth Day: history of a genius event with Dr. Adam Rome (May 2018) Music: One Mint Julep, performed live at KDHX by Brian Curran Thanks to Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet, and Jon Valley Earthworms tag-team engineers.   

We humans under stress, amazingly, recharge with a You-Can-Do. Especially when the DO gives us breaks from the stressors. As our entire species copes at once with the impersonal power of non-living bits of protein to separate us in yet more ways, we are choosing to connect in unprecedented, healing ways. Healing for us, and for our super-stressed (by humans) planet.                            ECO CHALLENGE is one of these connectors. Available via your preferred tech device for the entire month of April. Which includes the 50th Annual Earth Day, likely to be festival-free.  Lacy Cagle, Director of Learning for EcoChallenge.org, presents this motivating, multi-focus You-Can-Do. To WHOLE up our Earth relations and habits, while we are HOLED up, hopefully, in anti-viral best practice.     Thanks to Andy Coco and Andy Heaslet, engineering for Earthworms in our all-remote Social Distanced locales. Stay Safe - Be Well! Related Earthworms Conversations:   Making Green our Normal with Kathy Kuntz (Oct 2019)  Storytelling, Deep Listening: Antidotes to Toxic Public Discourse (July 2019) Try Living Plastic Free! EcoChallenge from July 2019

Indie rocker, John Vanderslice, is a true American original. In addition to a successful two-decade career in music, he also owns the Tiny Telephone recording studios in San Francisco and Oakland.  He joined Christian Schaeffer last month to discuss his recent album, 'The Cedars,' as well as his libertarian philosophies on drugs, technology and building permits. While in the studio, Vanderslice performed "I'll Wait for You," "Henry Ford Gymnasium" and "I Got S**t to Lose." Recorded at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri on May 2, 2019. The sound engineer was Andy Coco, with technical producer KE Luther. 

Parker Gispert is best known as the singer and guitarist for the Athens, Georgia band, The Whigs. Late last year, he released his first solo album, the raw, country-influenced Sunlight Tonight. He joined host, Christian Schaeffer, last month to discuss recording outside of Nashville, the freedom of touring solo and the transformative power of a solar eclipse. Gispert performs "Volcano," "Is It 9?" and "Too Dumb to Love Anyone." Recorded at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri on April 27, 2019. The sound engineer is Jon Valley, assisted by Sami Ross. The technical producer is KE Luther. And the executive producer is Andy Coco.  

Kiley Lotz is the creative force behind Petal, and her new record "Magic Gone" mixes autobiographical detail with emotional, pop-punk smarts. Lotz and her bandmates play the songs "Better Than You," Magic Gone" and "Stardust." Recorded at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri on January 21, 2019. Music recorded by Andy Coco, mixed by Taylor Perkins.

Chloe Feoranza, clarinetist for the Shake 'Em Up Jazz Band, Pokey LaFarge and other projects, is one of the great instrumentalists of her generation. She speaks with guest host, KE Luther, about playing in an all-female jazz combo, the challenges of touring and living with anxiety. The music for this episode was recorded live at KDHX's The Stage in St. Louis, Missouri on August 31, 2018. Engineered by Andy Coco and Jon Valley. 

Shades is the haunted and haunting debut record from Vera Sola, the nom-de-musique of Danielle Aykroyd. She performed every note and utterance on Shades, recording at St. Louis' Native Sound studio. On this episode Vera Sola performs the songs "Small Minds," "Black Rhino Enterprises," and "The Cage." Recorded at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri on September 30, 2018. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Collector's Edition digs into the vaults this week and uncovers a high-energy interview between KDHX host, Chris Sanley, and Shaun Fleming of the band, Diane Coffee. The exchange was originally recorded in January of this year, but it provides some much-needed color as we roll into fall. The band performs three songs: "Mayflower," "As You," and "Get By." Recorded January 20, 2018 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Jon Valley, KE Luther and Andy Coco.

When a chance college dorm meeting prompts parlay about urban ag and life's design, can a live/work partnership based on decay, and inspired by nature, be far behind? In the everyday and enterprise of Tim Kiefer and Beth Grolmes-Kiefer, for sure YES.                     These two purposeful young sustainably-focused city residents are putting their ideals to work, raising and selling the outputs of hens, and transforming vacant property from poison-ivy infestation to rich-soil productivity. How? Primarily by collecting to rot the kitchen and garden scraps of others. Perennial City Composting is a novel subscription service, providing St. Louis City and central-county area customers with regular organic waste pickup. Their on-the-road amenity feeds abandoned lot soil toward Tim and Beth's near-term goal of NOURISHing their subscribers with veggies from the composted scraps these same folks pay them to haul away.       This Earthworms conversation spotlights the Kiefer's unique, hard-working and visionary efforts, while also enlightening Beth and Tim to options host Jean Ponzi knows from her STL work and previous shows. Listeners: Be ready to Rot & Roll! Music: Jingle Bells - played live at KDHX by the Civiltones Earthworms is honored by engineering this week from Andy Coco, host of KDHX Rhythm Section and station Production Director. THANKS! Related Earthworms Conversations: Elaine Ingham: Soil Science Rocks Plant Health (Nov 2017)Fungus Farming for Food & Fun - McCully Heritage Project (Feb 2018) Food Policy Coalition Grows Health & Resouces (Dec 2015)The Easy Chicken - Fowl Fun Comes to You (Dec 2016)      

In this episode, Chris Sanley, host of KDHX's The Future is Now, interviews feminist icon, Ani DiFranco, about motherhood, her upcoming memoir and the rise of the #metoo movement. Ani performs live in The Stage at KDHX on Saturday, June 9, 2018 to a limited audience of KDHX donors. Sound was recorded and mixed by Joshua Melvin. This episode was produced with support from Andy Coco and KE Luther. 

After more than 10 years as a member of bands like Frontier Ruckus and Failed Flowers, Anna Burch made her solo debut with this year's Quit The Curse. The album channels smart, jangly indie-pop while cataloging the in and outs of romantic entanglements. Burch and her band play the songs "Quit the Curse," "2 Cool 2 Care" and "Asking 4 a Friend." Recorded on June 20, 2018 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by KE Luther and Andy Coco.

Subtitle of the new book by Seamus McGraw is Making of the American Water Crisis. McGraw turns his curiosity and storytelling skills to focus on Texas, where he says every aspect of water use, issues, needs and potentials are in play.          From a state he says is more like an Empire, where multiple desert climates overlay multiple aquifers, where water use planning and water rights laws still work in a form of frontier justice - what can we learn about how diverse interests might cooperate to equitably manage what all parties need? Water is life, but can people work out ways to share it?         Left Bank Books, STL's premier independent bookseller, will host Seamus McDaniel on May 1 for a reading and book-signing. A Thirsty Land (2018) comes from University of Texas Press. Music: Cadillac Desert performed live at KDHX by William Tyler THANKS to Dan Waterman and Andy Coco, engineering this edition of Earthworms. Related Earthworms Conversations: Water Issues - Meddling, Muddling, Advocacy (Dec 2017) Mississippi River Infrastructure Investment Plan (April 2017)  

The 2016 book Climate of Hope conveys a broad, powerfully encouraging view from a longtime environmental champion, Carl Pope - former Sierra Club national Director - and his co-author Michael Bloomberg, philanthropist and former Mayor of New York.                                This report on civic, economic, business and cultural alliances proclaims what Pope calls "Bottom-Up Climate Progress" even as U.S. federal leadership rolls back climate protections. Pope's perspective aims to foster citizen engagement and especially locally-based actions to boost clean energy and curb climate disrupting emissions from many sources.                           Carl Pope comes to St. Louis on Monday April 23, as Keynote Speaker for the Saint Louis University Climate Summit. Music: Cadillac Desert, performed live at KDHX by William Tyler THANKS to Dan Waterman and Andy Coco. engineering for Earthworms Related Earthworms Conversations: Project DRAWDOWN (March 2018) Dr. Peter Raven, Science advisor to Papal Academy and Climate Encyclical (June 2015) David and the Giant Mailbox: Climate Conversations (December 2015)

Caring for our planet is fun when St. Louis Earth Day's intrepid crew leads the action!       On April 21-22 the 29th annual Earth Day Festival will fill the sunny, leafy environs around The Muny in our town's Forest Park with learning, music, food, people-watching and you-can-do options for all ages. Free and fabulous, this event is one of the largest Earth Day festivals on the planet!                                                                The non-profit hosts of this Green gala also coordinate waste-reducing services year-round, from Recycling Extravaganza's annual spring-cleaning support to Recycling On The Go teams that bring food waste composting, single-stream recycling and public education to festivals of all kinds. Check out volunteer opportunities with St. Louis Earth Day - they are rewarding, impactful and always well organized! Thanks to Jen Myerscough, St. Louis Earth Day Executive Director, and Bob Henkel, who heads up Recycling On The Go, for joining this Earthworms edition. Music: Extremist Stomp, performed live at KDHX by Pokey LaFarge and Ryan Spearman THANKS to Andy Coco, engineering Earthworms this week with assistance from Dan Waterman. Related Earthworms Conversations: 2018 Green Challenges Worth Taking! (March 2018)

Emission du 14/02/2018, au programme : le film "Jim&Andy" (documentaire sur le tournage de "Man on the Moon"), le film Pixar "Coco", la trilogie "Le Passage" de Justin Cronin et le jeu de société - escape game "Unlock" + en bonu : quizz chansons d'amour by Siri

It's underfoot, but is it understood? Nature's capacity to feed plants, which in turn feed us (and all Earth's living kin), is powered by critters we CAN see (with a handy microscope), that we CAN WORK WITH, to harvest multiple benefits.                      Soil scientist Dr. Elaine Ingham champions this kind of partnership, and teachers humans how to partner with Nature to organically increase food crop yield, restore the health of degraded soils - and even sock tons of climate-changing Carbon into soil, sustainably. St. Louisans get to meet, hear and directly learn from Elaine Ingham on November 2-3, when the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance and partners host her for a free pubic talk, soil science microscope workshop, and in-depth soil science seminar for landscaping pros. Serving as Chief Soil Scientist for the organic advocacy Rodale Institute since 2013, Dr. Ingham continues her distinguished work in microbiological research as head of Soil Foodweb Inc., based in Corvallis, OR and at her research farm near Berry Creek, CA. Music: Balkan Twirl, performed live at KDHX by Sandy Weltman and the Carolbeth Trio. THANKS to Andy Coco, engineer for this edition of Earthworms Related Earthworms Conversations: EarthDance Farms in Ferguson Missouri (April 2017) Wes Jackson, founder of The Land Institute: Growing our Food in Prairies (September 2015)

Living more simply? Understanding ecology? Taking an Eco Challenge to change some personal habits? The Northwest Earth Institute, working from Portland, Oregon for nearly 25 years, offers courses for personal online learning to group exploration and discussion.          Lacy Cagle, NWEI's Director of Learning, develops courses geared to engage the public with sustainable thinking and action, and work in academic circles to advance "sustainability pedagogy." Her take on how humans have been thinking, are learning to think (and act) - and how we COULD grow our Greener perceptions - makes for a most thought-nourishing Earthworms conversation! Coming up October 11-25, the 2017 EcoChallenge is an NWEI action project. Individuals or teams of humans will dig into habit-forming opportunities, aiming for Green changes. These individual efforts DO add up! Music: Mister Sun, performed live at KDHX by Hunter's Permit THANKS to Andy Coco, KDHX Production Chief, for engineering this Earthworms interview. Related Earthworms Conversation: People's Pocket Guide to Environmental Action with Caitlin Zera (July 2017) The Patterning Instinct in Human Nature (June 2017) Experiential Education (March 2017) The BIG Book of Nature Activities (June 2016) Crystal Moore Stevens: Grow, Create, Inspire (October 2016)    

Here in the KDHX region we don't worry much about water. St. Louis sits at the confluence of the 4th largest watershed on Earth. Not the case in many other parts of the U.S., or the world. Where there's not so much water, how can fair access to water be ensured? For drinking, food production, sanitation - and more uses.                                                         In Washington D.C. the non-profit Center for Water Security and Cooperation is researching questions of water equity, and advocating for fair water-related policies.  Earthworms guest Alexandra Campbell Ferrari is Executive Director of these efforts. Her organization deals with water security questions that, in many areas, have not been raised before. For example, what rules should exist to support people who can't afford their water bill? Should people have to choose between affording rent, electricity, food or water? This conversation dives provocatively into water issues. Tap into it - and consider how water security could be more cooperatively handled! THANKS to Andy Coco, engineer for this Earthworms edition. Music: Big Piney Blues, performed live at KDHX by Brian Curran. Learn more in St. Louis October 17 at the Water Justice Blitz, presented by the U.S. Green Building Council-Missouri Gateway Chapter, hosted by Washington University. Speakers, discussions, CEUs and more. Related Earthworms Conversations:Mississippi River Town Mayors: Leadership in a Global Way (June 2016) Invest in Infrastructure, Nature's and Ours (April 2017) Living with Rivers: Big Muddy MO (February 2017)  

On 2017's Goths, the Mountain Goats channel one of singer John Darnielle's favorite musical subcultures while painting its songs in lighter shades of electric piano and saxophone. For this stripped-down set, Darnielle is joined by pianist and saxophonist Matt Douglas for one tune from the new record and a pair from 2007's Get Lonely. Songs performed are "Wear Black," "In the Hidden Places" and "Get Lonely." Engineered by Andy Coco and Cody Pees. Recorded on September 11, 2017 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri.

New York-based foursome Charly Bliss channels a fuzzy and effervescent strand of 90s pop-punk while making its own stamp on the genre. The band plays three songs from its debut full-length "Guppy" and singer/guitarist Eva Hendricks talks about the band's experiences on the road and in the studio. Songs performed are "DQ," "Percolator" and "Ruby." Recorded on April 30, 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Pokey LaFarge and his six-piece band get a warm hometown welcome for this recording, done in front of a live audience at the Stage at KDHX ahead of the release of his latest "Manic Revelations." LaFarge and company perform the songs "Riot in the Streets," "Must be a Reason," "Going to the Country" and "Good Luck Charm." Recorded live at the Stage at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri on May 11, 2017. Engineered by Jon Valley and Andy Coco.

How can you not love a tiny, gorgeous creature that flies from Mexico to Canada to keep its species on the Earth? Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are one of our most iconic nature-kin. They need our help - and we can give it to them, beautifully.                      Dr. Orly R. "Chip" Taylor has championed Monarchs since the early 1990s.  His studies through University of Kansas-Lawrence have documented a drastic decline (over 90%) of Monarch populations along their  North American migratory flyway, and his advocacy - as founder of Monarch Watch, Monarch Waystation and Milkweed Market - continues to mobilize citizen science and gardening support to restore habitat needed to preserve this species. Chip Taylor will  keynote the second annual Grow Native! workshop in Edwardsville, IL on Friday, March 10. This is an opportunity to hear one of nature's Green Giants, learn how YOU can contribute to the health of Monarch and other native critter populations through Native Plant landscaping - and you can GET PLANTS! Don't let this spring pass without digging into the Native Plant movement. Opportunities abound! You - and Monarchs - will benefit, beautifully. Music: Artifact, Kevin MacLeod THANKS to Andy Heasley, Earthworms engineer - and to Andy Coco. Related Earthworms Conversations:  Native Plants: Growing a Joint Venture with Nature (February 2017)  Prairie Power (March 2016)

Wildflowers are moving into the city - and plants with "weed" in their names are welcome even in the 'burbs. Sure and steady as Oak trees, a Native Plant revolution is changing the ways we experience our yards, our parks, our school grounds and even our corporate campuses.                        Neil Diboll, President of Prairie Nursery in Westfield, Wisconsin, has grown this wild idea for 35 years. He was digging native plants when his business "couldn't give 'em away." Now he - and many humans like him - can't get enough of the kinds of plants that let our species garden in a Joint Venture with Nature.                                       Mitch Leachman cultivates this mania here in the KDHX listening area. As head of St. Louis Audubon, he leads volunteers from groups with names like Wild Ones and Master Naturalists in efforts to "Bring Conservation Home" - the wildly successful Audubon program that comes to your yard with guidance to garden ecologically.  Let this Earthworms conversation welcome you to the realm of Native Plants. Want to learn more? You're in luck! March brings workshops, talks and plant sales bursting like Milkweed pods with Native Plant knowledge, opportunity, and FUN! Neil Diboll will headline the 2017 Partners for Native Landscaping Workshop on March 3 & 4 - hosted this year at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, where native plant horticulture training is taking off like Prairie Blazing Stars.  Additional visiting Native Plant maven: pollinator plant author Heather Holm. Need a lift for your spirits? Start gardening for butterflies, birds and bees. Pick some flowers with "weed" in their names. Meet folks who've got the Native bug - and let yourself catch it too! Music: Agnes Polka, performed at KDHX by the Chia Band, 1999. THANKS to Andy Coco, Earthworms engineer, and to all the Partners for Native Landscaping organizations. Related Earthworms Conversations: Prairie Power: Native Plants, Soil Health, Biodiverse BEAUTY (March 30, 2016) Wes Jackson and The Land Institute: Growing Our Food Crops as Prairies? (September 15, 2015)

As Earthworms rides out the tail tip of 2016, we find ourselves needing an Attitude Adjustment to prepare for a New Year. Jeannie Breeze, our longtime friend and positive-focus mentor, brings to KDHX some of her prodigious, witty skills to generate and maintain Peace through thoughts, words and actions.  This conversation invites our whole community to join the 31st annual St. Louis World Peace Day Celebration, on Saturday December 31 at 6 a.m. (yes, we know it's early - you'll hear why in the podcast) at Central Reform Congregation, corner of Kingshighway and Waterman. As in every year past, this event includes fine music, words of wisdom  (some from Earthworms host Jean Ponzi), and an exceptional meditation guided by Jeannie herself. Check out the details. Potluck breakfast too! Hocus-Pocus, You Can Focus - on being a Beacon of (green) Peace! Music: Big Piney Blues, performed live at KDHX by Brian Curran, March 2015 THANKS to Jon Valley, Earthworms engineer, and to Andy Coco.

When Amanda Shires isn't on stage -- performing her own songs or in support of her husband Jason Isbell or the legendary John Prine -- she pursues her MFA in creative writing; on her latest LP, My Piece of Land, she walks the line between biography and fiction. Shires sings three new songs and talks at length about her writing process, life on the road and much more. Songs performed are "Harmless," "Pale Fire" and "When You're Gone." Recorded on November 3, 2016 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

On her debut album "Beyond the Bloodhounds," singer and guitarist Adia Victoria uses an updated and dark-tinted brand of electric blues to tell her stories and consider the intersections of her black, Southern, female identities. On this episode, we'll talk with Adia Victoria about the legacy of music as social protest in the era of Black Lives Matter. Songs performed are "Dead Eyes," "Head Rot" and "Invisible Hands." Recorded September 25, 2016 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

The ABCs of R! R! R! will help every resident recycle - easily. In the City of St. Louis, it's Brightside, our long-serving beautification agency, now educating residents and bringing resources to community events. Brightside's recycling specialists Elysia Musumeci and Jessica Freiberger and volunteer recycling ambassador Richard Bax recently went door-to-door in two city neighborhoods, to answer residents' questions and distribute home bins in a pilot effort to boost recycling participation.  What do people want to know to make this most fundamental Green practice work? What kinds of issues do city recycling advocates face? A terrific new website, STLCityRecycles.com, and this Earthworms conversation explain it all for you! Check out their lively social media posts and the Brightside website too! Music: Magic in Threes, performed live at KDHX by Trinity Way, December 2011 THANKS to Josh Nothum and Andy Coco, Earthworms ace engineers.

Everybody eats. So local food production could become an economic engine, with a modest carbon footprint and potentially huge community benefits. And gardens rooted in communities of faith can nourish the kind of massive root system - of leadership, partnership, entrepreneurship, stewardship - needed to give this ship's engine good Green steam. Earthworms guest Sylvester Brown Jr. is putting these synergies to work in The Sweet Potato Project, a St. Louis enterprise since 2012 that empowers urban, disadvantaged youth to grow strong futures for themselves and their 'hoods by cultivating - YAMS! Brown will keynote a free public event on Tuesday Sept 20 that spotlights opportunity for faith congregations to GARDEN as a means to community service. Earthworms guest Gail Wechsler is a coordinator of this event - Greening Your Community, Saving the Planet One Garden at a Time - and a spokesperson from the Jewish Community Relations Council for the Green organizing power of communities of all faiths. This event is third in a series of collaborations between the Jewish Environmental Initiative, US Green Building Council-Missouri Gateway Chapter and Missouri Interfaith Power & Light. Register here. Earthworms Engineers are Josh Nothum and Andy Coco - thanks! Music: Butter II performed live at KDHX by Ian Ethan Case, March 2016 Related Earthworms Conversation: St. Louis Food Policy Coalition - December 2015

Will Johnson led the beloved Denton, Texas-based Centro-matic for over 15 years, and after that band's friendly dissolution, he released Swan City Vampires and embarked on a series of living room tours. Johnson will play three songs from that new LP -- "Call, Call, Call," "Nameless, But a Lover" and "Pulleys" on this episode. Recorded on May 25, 2016 at KDHX in St. Louis. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Given the persistence of fossil fuels, it's tough to imagine how Ready KiloWatt and his gang can power an optimistic, realistic new era. And with ever-more gizmos guzzling juice, does energy efficiency have a prayer? YES! say former utility CEO and energy policy authority S. David Freeman and today's Earthworms guest, energy journalist Leah Y. Parks. They are co-authors of a great new book, All-Electric America - A Climate Solution and the Hopeful Future (2016, Solar Flare Press). This book is a terrific summary of clean energy options, clearly explaining solar to storage, economics to electric cars - backed by current examples from U.S. cities, businesses, utilities and points of techno-evolution. Dave Freeman remains optimistic after 7+ decades of energy work, as an architect of the US EPA during the Nixon era, as L.A.'s Deputy Mayor for Energy and Environment, and as CEO of utilities in Texas, California and New York. Leah Parks represents their research and writing partnership with clear enthusiasm for the many ways clean electrical technology is HERE, and how even utility evolution inertia is being overcome, in examples like Vermont's Green Mountain Power and Oregon's Pacific Power.  Could America's clean energy future be plugged in and powering up right now? This Earthworms conversation says, energetically, YES! Music: Dark Matter, recorded live at KDHX by Mad Titans, March 2010 Thanks to Andy Coco, Earthworms live-wire engineer.    

Robert Ellis' latest album is self-titled; that tidbit, along with a recent divorce, has had critics and writers salivating for a broken-heart narrative. But to hear Ellis tell is, he's still exploring the grey area in relationships, where people struggle to get what they want. We'll talk with Ellis at length and hear three new songs on this week's episode. Songs performed are "Perfect Strangers," "Amanda Jane" and "California." Recorded at KDHX in St. Louis on June 7, 2016. Engineering by Andy Coco, mixing and mastering by Jon Valley.

Oscar Scheller self-records his songs under his first name, and the tracks on this year's Cut & Paste place his elegant baritone voice against scuzzy garage rock and the rainbow-colored remnants of Brit Pop. We caught him on his first full tour of the U.S. whilst opening for Bloc Party, and on this episode he'll talk about his musical upbringing, his fascination with American pop culture and the challenge of adapting home recordings in a full-band setting. Songs performed are "Sometimes," "Breaking My Phone" and "Good Things." Recorded at KDHX in St. Louis on May 24, 2016. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Miles Nielsen leads the rock-and-roots combo the Rusted Hearts through warm, weathered Americana on this year's Heavy Metal. We'll talk with Nielsen and the band about its evolution, its Midwestern sensibilities and growing up in the shadow of Cheap Trick. Songs performed are "Simple Times," "Is This The End" and "Honey Bee." Recorded on May 12, 2016 at KDHX in St. Louis. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Lily Cato leads this New York-based sextet with clear nods to '60s girl-group harmonies and an increasing reliance on taut, muscular synth pop. Parlour Tricks plays three tracks (including one as-yet-unreleased tune) on this week's show, and we talk with Cato and harmony vocalists Darah Golub and Morgane Hollowell about the band's evolution, its rejection of gender-as-genre, and how all the best post-show compliments deal with music theory. Songs performed are "Gone," "Requiem" and "Leave Your Light On." Recorded on March 7, 2016 at KDHX in St. Louis. Engineered by Andy Coco and Paul Roach.

This Los Angeles-based quartet calls itself the Americans, a broad and startlingly simple name and one that fits the group's catch-all approach to American roots music. After two self-recorded releases, the Americans will issue the studio album "I'll Be Yours" this spring. We talk with all four band members during this session and hear three new, forthcoming songs: "Stowaway," "Harbor Lane" and "I'll Be Yours." Recorded on January 14, 2016 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Recorded by Andy Coco, remixed by Haley Hudson.

Alongside woodwind player Jeff Lederer and bassist Paul Sikivie, drummer Matt Wilson leads this seasonally motivated jazz trio through a deep dive of the Christmas song canon, performing traditional carols, modern tunes and folk songs with equal parts wit, irreverence and inventiveness. We'll talk with the band about finding new meaning in old favorites and how Christmas songs have become a different take on the idea of the "jazz standard." Songs performed are "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "Si Me Dan Pastellas" and "O Come O Come Emmanuel." Recorded on December 17, 2015 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Mikaela Davis came to play the harp at a young age almost by happenstance, but by her teenage years she had figured out how to use the instrument to drive her dreamy, slightly psychedelic pop songs. We'll talk with Davis and her drummer and collaborator Alex Cote about the importance of music education, the influence of Joanna Newsom and her upcoming LP. Songs performed are "When You're Away," "Is This the Way," and "I Don't Want Another Love." Recorded on October 6, 2015 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Pure Bathing Culture principals Sarah Versprille and Daniel Hindman talk about stripping back the layers of their band's shimmering, gossamer pop songs on this year's Pray for Rain. Producer John Congleton helped them focus their sound and new additions to the recordings -- Moog bass and live drums, to name two -- give a new bounce to the Portland-based quartet. Songs performed are "Palest Pearl," "She Shakes" and "Pray for Rain." Recorded on October 12, 2015 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco. (Bonus content: Pure Bathing Culture's appearance on Collector's Edition from November 12, 2013)

Emi Night leads the Denver-based quartet Strawberry Runners with a memoirist's approach to the heartfelt and harrowing stories of her own childhood. Her bandmates support these songs with a twee-pop sheen that doesn't undercut the lyrics' emotional heft, and Strawberry Runners' two-song single shows both sides of that coin. The band is about to record its debut LP but were kind enough to play a preview of the forthcoming album. Songs performed are "Dog Days," When We Were Good" and "Your Bed Was Tall." Recorded on October 3, 2015 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

On The Embers of Time, Josh Rouse pairs his tastefully arranged and sweetly sung songs with lyrics that meditate on artistic identity, personal history and shifting priorities. On this episode, Rouse shares three solo, acoustic songs from the new record and talks about the duality of playing fundamentally American music while residing in Valencia, Spain, where he's lived for over a decade. Songs performed are "New Young," Somedays I'm Golden All Night" and "Crystal Falls." Recorded on September 18 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Tim Kasher started the Good Life as a softer, more bare-bones approach compared to the work he was doing in Cursive, but the band came to be more than a mere side-project.  Mid-2000s Albums like Black Out and Album of the Year showed melodic and thematic adventurousness, but the Good Life had been dormant since 2007. This year's Everybody's Coming Down finds the core quartet back in fine, rangy form. Songs performed as "Everybody," "The Troubadour's Green Room" and "So Let Go." Recorded on September 5, 2015 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

You might know him as the lead singer of the Athens, GA-based band Dead Confederate or as a member of Diamond Rugs alongside members of Deer Tick and Los Lobos, but T. Hardy Morris remains restless on his latest release. "Drownin' on a Mountaintop" is released under the guise of Hardy & the Hard Knocks, but Morris' knack for finding Southern rock's grittier corners remains regardless of the outfit. Songs performed are "Young Assumption," "Blame" (one of his contributions to Diamond Rugs) and "Shit in the Wind." Recorded on August 4, 2015 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco. 

For her forthcoming LP This Ain't Luck, singer-songwriter Alex Winston took a more personal approach to her lyrics while opening up her music to more radio-ready popcraft. Winston talks about the new songs and the fruitful, if trying, creation of the new album. Songs performed are "The Day I Died," "Careless" and "Gentleman." Recorded at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri on June 23, 2015. Engineered by Andy Coco.

The Toronto-based quintet began as a vehicle for Tony Dekker's softly sung and sweetly rendered songs and grew into a formidable, intuitive folk outfit. The band plays an acoustic set of three songs from its latest, A Forest of Arms, and Dekker expands on the band's relationship to its physical environment, both in and out of the studio. Songs performed are "Something Like a Storm," "Don't Leave Me Hanging" and "Zero in the City." Recorded on June 21, 2015 at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Peter Raven is St. Louis' own Hero of the Planet. Since 1990 he's been a Senior Science Advisor to the Pontifical Academy of Science, most recently one of the minds behind the letter from Pope Francis, released on June 18, framing climate change as a moral issue for all people of this Earth. Dr. Raven, who is President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden, talks with Earthworms host Jean Ponzi about the papal message, about this moment for humankind, and about the potential each one of us has to make the changes needed to heal and protect the Earth. Read the climate change encyclical, Laudato Si' - and be assured that our individual efforts do matter in a world where "climate is a common good" and ". . . .nothing is indifferent to us." Thanks to Earthworms engineer, Andy Coco.Music: Artifact by Kevin MacLeod

Best known as founding members of the long-running Chicago band the Sea & Cake, Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt trade in tightly constructed, jazz-flecked pop songs for sprawling instrumental synthesis. Touring in support of Prekop's recent LP of modular synthesizer compositions The Republic, Prekop and Prewitt play a new, untitled composition built from Prekop's modulating melodic patterns and layered with Prewitt's lithe, soaring guitar lines. We talk with Prekop about his history with this style of instrumental music and its connections to his better-known work with the Sea & Cake. Recorded live at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri on May 19, 2015. Engineered by Andy Coco.

Under the direction of pianist and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone, this Brooklyn-based octet have released two albums that mix symphonic swells, beat-driven pop and evocative vocal interplay. We talk with Ludwig-Leone, vocalist Charlene Kaye and trumpet player John Brandon about the band's evolution from studio concoction to thrilling, club-filling live act. San Fermin plays the songs "Emily," "Jackrabbit" and "Reckoning," all from the new Jackrabbit LP. Recorded live at KDHX in St. Louis, Missouri on May 14, 2015. Engineered by Andy Coco.